Mission Statement

See the University Bulletin or the University Catalog for more details.

MISSION

American Pathways University provides a program of liberal higher education, including a core curriculum of liberal arts general education and specialized fields of study, primarily for metropolitan Denver’s diverse urban, low-income, and inner-city learners who have been traditionally un-reached and underserved by higher education that is accessible, affordable, and designed to facilitate immediate and long-term changes in thinking, doing, and being as cornerstones for successful lives, financial self-reliance, and leadership for functional communities.

The mission of American Pathways University is founded on the following institutional predicates.

• American Pathways University is committed to a vision of the liberating arts that is neither secular nor religious but grounded in the moral and spiritual values of Western Civilization, the American experience, and democratic institutions.
• American Pathways University is committed to liberal education acquiring knowledge, empowering reason, and liberating the soul creating a free person that leads to a good citizen. “Liberal” comes from the Latin liber meaning “free.”The liberal arts and sciences are necessary and must be accessible for every individual to become free as a person and to remain free amid political, scientific, and cultural change.
• American Pathways University is committed to liberal arts education that educational enterprise, based on reason and knowledge, that believes the full range of creation and knowledge should be examined and applied by men and women prepared by the humanities to exercise their God-given free agency and personal gifts as responsible and effective stewards of creation and their own destiny and as contributing citizens of society.
• American Pathways University is committed to the liberating arts educational experience found in the Western intellectual tradition that promotes thinking, doing, and being in the learner. Thinking is the cognitive investigation and acquisition of knowledge. Doing is the effective empowerment and use of reason. Being is the affective and imperative liberation of the human spirit.

AUTHORIZATION AND ACCREDITATION

State Authorization
The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) has authorized American Pathways University (APU) to operate in the state of Colorado as a private institution of higher learning. APU subscribes to the standards of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (the state policy and coordinating board for Colorado’s higher education system).

National Accreditation
American Pathways University is a member of the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE), national accreditor of outstanding liberal arts colleges and universities, with the status of institutional accreditation.

Regional Accreditation
American Pathways University is pursuing regional accreditation.

Life-Long Learning Objective
The University’s mission is to serve students ages 18 to 65 and older by providing a successful educational experience.

Institutional Objectives
1.    Authorization and Accreditation Objective
The University is authorized by the State of Colorado to offer courses for credit and award college degrees, and has accreditation through AALE – American Academy for Liberal Education.
2.    Accessibility Objective
Access is achieved by programs and courses that are open to all students regardless of prior academic success and by individual education plans. Supplemental educational support and services, such as GED preparation, ESL, remedial, and tutorial programs, are available.
3.    Affordability Objective
The University provides an affordable education through a scholarship program that covers up to 80% of tuition for urban students.

VISION, VALUES, AND PRIORITIES

The University’s vision and values guide the institution’s organizational priorities to facilitate its mission.

University Vision
To deliver an educational excellence of the character found in regionally accredited universities and colleges.

University Values
The core values of American Pathways University are embodied in The Apostles Creed, Christian liberal arts education, the American experience, and democratic institutions.